SOFTS-NY cocoa takes biggest tumble in six weeks, raw sugar firms

3 Min Read

(Rewrites throughout, updates prices; adds comment, NEW YORK
dateline)
NEW YORK/LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - New York cocoa futures
on ICE took their biggest one-day fall in six weeks on Tuesday,
pressured by the weak British pound and layers of automatic sell
orders, potentially signaling that this year's strong advance
may be starting to run out of steam.
COCOA
* July New York cocoa settled down $105, or 3.8
percent, at $2,674 per tonne. It dropped to a one-month low at
$2,662 in post-settlement dealings.
* It was the biggest one-day drop since April 3, taking the
benchmark contract nearly 10 percent below last month's
1-1/2-year high.
* The U.S. market was pressured by the weak pound
against the dollar, and the fall was extended after sell-stops
were triggered at several levels below $2,748, traders said.
* The move further pressured the New York premium over
London, which traders said has driven demand for U.S. shipments
from West Africa.
* July London cocoa settled down 57 pounds, or 3
percent, at 1,870 pounds per tonne, the second-position
contract's biggest one-day drop since March.
* The May London contract expired on Tuesday, with
its discount to July narrowing sharply to 57 pounds.
SUGAR
* July raw sugar settled up 0.26 cent, or 2.3
percent, at 11.52 cents per lb.
* Prices were buoyed by light short-covering by funds, which
remain heavily bearish in the commodity due to expectations for
a large global surplus, traders said.
* Participants were also monitoring weather in top grower
Brazil, where light rains are expected this week but may not be
enough after a recent dry spell, dealers said.
* Thailand has allocated an additional 300,000 tonnes of raw
sugar for ethanol production this year, amid weak prices and a
large global surplus.
* August white sugar settled up $1.30, or 0.4
percent, at $322.40 per tonne.
COFFEE
* July arabica coffee settled down 0.65 cent, or 0.6
percent, at $1.1695 per lb.
* Focus remained on a large crop from top grower Brazil,
though the harvest is expected slightly later than usual, said
Ricardo Santos, managing director at Riccoffee.
* "We're probably going to see harvesting activity until
October due to the size of the crop," Santos said. "But one
thing is for certain - there is a lot of coffee."
* July robusta coffee settled down $14, or 0.8
percent, at $1,728 per tonne.
(Reporting by Marcy Nicholson in New York, and Ana Ionova and
Nigel Hunt in London
Editing by David Goodman and Chizu Nomiyama)